Most major cities today struggle to sustain themselves. They are faced with problems like limited housing for the growing population, an acute shortage of clean water and pure air, and are dealing with huge amounts of garbage. They have to exploit the resources of neighbouring areas to meet their demands.
The problems faced by space stations are also similar to that of a city with scarce resources. However, space stations are built in such a way that they are super-efficient and self sufficient.
An ongoing exhibition at Khoj Studios gives out the message that we need every city to be self-sufficient like a space station in order to to survive in the future.
‘The Undivided Mind’ is a crossover exhibition between art and science that asks if our cities can survive for long if they continue to grow irresponsibly. It explores how policy-makers can intervene to make our cities self-sufficient.
The exhibition is a result of a two-week residency to explore the interaction between art and science that was attended by ‘City As A Spaceship’ collective comprising Susmita Mohanty (spaceship designer and aerospace entrepreneur), Barbara Imhof (space architect) and Sue Fairburn (scientist and design researcher) along with Rohini Devasher (visual artist).
The works on display at Khoj focus on data collected through CAAS’s interactions with people from the neighbourhood. Sue Fairburn, Canadian scientist who works with concepts of extreme physiology, says: “Through our collages that juxtapose various living environments on earth and that in space, we want to create a dialogue that earth and space are not exclusive of each other.”
The art production includes: videos, interviews, collages, mash-ups, post-cards and printed journals. In the main gallery they are three videos playing simultaneously. On the left wall shows life in space and astronaut Sunita Williams takes people on a tour of the space station she was on. She explains how the space station is self-sufficient and allows humans to live on it for long periods of time.
On the other side of the room is a video with interviews city planners and other experts in Delhi and shares their vision for the future. Viewers can sit back in the centre of the room on beanbags and look at the projection on the ceiling of the room that has rolling text explaining the vision of CAAS. The exhibition is on till Tuesday at the Khoj Studio, Khirkee Extension.
